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RFC 8805 - A Format for Self-Published IP Geolocation Feeds

Erik Kline
Krzysztof Duleba
Zoltan Szamonek
Stefan Moser
IETF RFCs, RFC Editor (2020), pp. 23

Abstract

This document records a format whereby a network operator can publish a mapping of IP address prefixes to simplified geolocation information, colloquially termed a "geolocation feed". Interested parties can poll and parse these feeds to update or merge with other geolocation data sources and procedures. This format intentionally only allows specifying coarse-level location. Some technical organizations operating networks that move from one conference location to the next have already experimentally published small geolocation feeds. This document describes a currently deployed format. At least one consumer (Google) has incorporated these feeds into a geolocation data pipeline, and a significant number of ISPs are using it to inform them where their prefixes should be geolocated.